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Bergevin Speaks to Marinaro |
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Just like he did last year, Marc Bergevin took some time out of his busy schedule to answer some of Tony Marinaro’s questions live on TSN 690 this morning. Here are the highlights of the interview.
On how he explains the fact that the Habs took a step forward in the playoffs but not in the regular season
Until about Christmas, we were in a playoffs position but then we had a second 8-game losing streak and both Gallagher and Armia went down to injury. From then on, we got ourselves out of contention, we were not consistent enough and we didn’t play with enough emotion. Once we got to Toronto though, we were fresh and rested and we were able to perform.
On what happened with Domi this season
Well, Max is probably best placed to answer this question but my take is that when he got here in his first year, he played a north-south game with power and a bit of skill. This season though, he tried to use more skill than power. As a GM, it’s my job to let the player know what I think and I’ve told him my opinion and he agreed, he’s a smart guy. At one stage, a player has got to look in the mirror and ask himself: “What can I do better?”. Instead, he seemed to be asking himself: “Why am I playing with this guy and this guy?”. Those are questions for the coach.
On if he too saw an unhappy Max Domi this last season
He never told either me or the coaching staff that he was unhappy, but that’s kind of what I saw too. He looked like he was down on himself but he wasn’t the only one in that situation.
On whether your best scorer should play with the best wingers
By best wingers, I assume you mean Gallagher and Tatar? The fact is, he didn’t need them the year before to get 72 points. The Tatar-Danault-Gallagher line was arguably our most consistent line and they were producing. Are you going to pull apart your best performing line to get one guy going? It doesn’t really make sense does it? (When Marinaro asked him if that approach was still the right one even once things were going very badly for the team and the situation got more and more desperate, Bergevin visibly did not like the question but he said the following) It comes down to this, if you want more ice-time, you have to play better.
On whether Domi might have been nervous in the bubble
No, I don’t think that was a factor, we were very supportive and aware of his situation and we made sure he could consult a specialist who sat down with him and explained the risks to him in light of his diabetes. We wouldn’t have put him in a situation which would have jeopardized his health and to be fair, there was not a single case of Covid in the bubbles for the last 2 months.
On his playing on the 4th line a bit like Galchenyuk
Domi and Galchenyuk are 2 very different players. Max still has the potential to be what he was in his first season with us. He landed on the 4th line because Suzuki and KK played well and Danault, well, he’s Danault. If he turns up next season and he plays like he did in his first year in Montreal, he won’t be put on the 4th line.
On the "social media gate"
I don’t really care about what a player puts on his social media profile to be honest. Besides, since then his agent said that he only did that to update his current location as he wasn’t in Montreal for the summer. [That is indeed the explanation is agent gave a journalist not so long ago, but it makes no sense whatsoever, the MTL mention wasn’t about his location, it was about the team he plays for. Guess, that’s all they could come up with to do some damage control].
On if Domi’s going somewhere
He’s not going anywhere that’s correct. We will be negotiating with him and a couple of things could happen, we can either agree on the terms of a longer contract or we can sign him for a year if things get difficult since he has arbitration rights.
On trades
I’ve made 87 trades since I arrived in Montreal, some of them panned out and others didn’t that’s just normal. I’m not going to comment every single trade I’ve made here with you. It wouldn’t be respectful if a GM I traded with listened to this interview and it takes some time to know how a trade turned out really. You mentioned the one with Vegas, in a few years, Max (Pacioretty) might not be with them anymore or might be on the verge of retiring while we’ll still have Suzuki, it’s hard to evaluate deals like that.
On the fact that Drouin has not, so far, met expectation
As you say, this year he was on pace for 46 points, we expect more for him that’s for sure. Our expectations are higher than what he’s done so far, but the potential to be more is still there. The talent we saw and Tampa saw when they picked him 3rd overall is still there. He just needs to be more consistent and that’s not rare with a young guy. I’m really not ready to give up on him and he was good in the bubble even if he did have a slow start. That’s the kind of hockey we want to see him play next season. Yes, generally if a player is going to “break out” it does happen during his first few seasons, but there are exceptions.
On what he thought after the 2nd 8-game losing streak
Obviously, you know you’re in trouble and that teams who got through 2 of those streaks are unlikely to make the playoffs. I was not on the verge to do something big to shake the team though, big trades during the season are rare and the best trades are not made when you are panicking.
On why the Flyers edged the Habs in the 1st round
I believe their experience served them well, we had a lot of young guys and some of our key offensive contributors didn’t chip in so that makes it hard to win. I really think that we went through some growing pains there but we’re a better team today than we were at the start of the playoffs.
On Nick Suzuki
Yes, he is very good but he will need to do it over again and again. He could still have a tough 2nd season, I hope he won’t but it could happen. Seeing him perform wasn’t a surprise to me though, I saw him play at the Memorial Cup last season and I wen’t away thinking that this kid was very good.
On why he apologized about Mueller not speaking French
Well, before I arrived, Cunneyworth was appointed as interim head coach and that created quite the mediatic storm, I just wanted to make sure that we didn’t get a repeat of that incident, that we didn’t ruffle any feathers.
On if his group of forwards can go through the marathon that are the Stanley Cup playoffs
Ideally, with the right balance yes this group could, there is a need to get bigger but those bigger players that are capable of making an impact are not so easy to find. Tampa went out and got bigger but with respect to the players they got, those weren’t skills guys. Yes, in an ideal world I would be able to add a skill player with size.
On if he’s ready to go all in
Right now, yes I am willing to trade first picks and prospects for immediate help, I’d be willing to do it tonight, but no there is nothing imminent right now, I’m not close to pulling the trigger. You know if I was to make a big trade but the price was Suzuki or KK, people wouldn’t be happy.
On the wear and tear on Gallagher
Of course, you worry about the wear and tear on a player that plays that style of play but that’s true for any player who plays that way. It is a worry, but that’s the only way he knows how to play and we wouldn’t want him to be playing any other way. [He clearly intends to sign him to an extension but that hasn’t happen yet – Marinaro than pressed on asking if he saw Petry as more of a priority since he was already signe]. Jeff gave us a lot, we signed him to an extension because we wanted to keep him and he wanted to stay, both sides were interested so we sat down and we got it done.
On his results over the last 8 years
If you told me 8 years ago that those would be our results for the next 8 seasons, of course I wouldn’t have been satisfied but we are going in the right direction. Of course, we want the Cup but 30 other teams also want it. I was here, I saw the parades in the past, but the landscape of the league has changed since then.
If what the team needs is available on the free agency market
No probably not. I really do not think that’s how you build your team. I often say that the biggest mistakes are made on July first, put your phone away and pick it back up on the 2nd. I’m not saying I won’t be active at all, but this is the way I see things. Sure, an offer sheet to an RFA is a tool that is out there and we’d do it if it made sense and we could make it work.
On the possibility of another Armia like trade
That’s always a possibility but right now, there are teams in a better position to do that than we are. Teams like Detroit and Ottawa have got plenty of space under the cap and could easily absorb big contracts in exchange for assets… We have players we need to sign.
On Cole Caufield
Yes he has decided to go to Wisconsin but I told his agent that I want him to play hockey this year, if they don’t play, we’ll have to find an alternative solution.
Overall, this was a pretty interesting interview even though nothing came as a big revelation or a big shock. As I said in my previous blog, trading picks and prospects is now a possibility and Bergevin doesn’t feel like the needs he’s yet to address could be met by signing someone on the free agency market. Of course, he’s hardly going to tell a radio host that he plans to target a certain player, but trades are much more the Bergevin way then free agent shopping. I know, he’s made a lot of trades, some of which were relatively minor, but he’s also made some big hockey trades. The Subban-Weber one for instance, the Drouin-Sergachev swap and the Domi -Galchenyuk one all come to mind, look around the league and you’ll see that not that many GMs have made hockey trades like these in the last few years. Clearly, he’s aware that his team still has some pressing needs, size and scoring up front, and he’s looking to address those. I really do think that there are more trades coming for the Habs this offseason, I don’t know when it will happen but it will happen.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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